AP Euro: Unit 17.4-17.6 - WWII

Momentum Shift and the War in the Pacific

Allies Mobilize For War

• Churchill (New prime minister of England, who replaced Chamberlain after the fall of Denmark and Norway) and Stalin form an alliance to resist Nazi Germany
• Britain, the US, and Russia all scramble to mobilize their troops, and re-fit factories for production.

• In Britain, 55% of all citizens are in some way involved in the war effort
• Soviet Union Spends more than 50% of it nation’s entire budget to build weapons for the war (mostly tanks)
• In the Pacific, America is still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor.

• Unites Americans behind the war effort.
• War propaganda helps fund the war!
• Women are on the front line for production as most men are in active military service

Comparing Production Rates

• The US was ahead of most countries in production because our own territory was not threatened (enabled full mobilization)

• Ahead in 

• Aircraft Production
• Naval Vessel Production
• Tank Production (Russia was close)

Japan is SUPER Busy in Our Absence

• From the US they take

• Guam, Wake Island, Philippines Islands 

• From the French they take

• Indochina (Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia)

• From the British they take

• Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma

• From the Dutch they take

• The oil rich Indonesian Islands

• By May (1942), Japan had conquered over 1 million square miles and had control of 150 million people.

Battle of the Coral Sea

• Intel reaches US that Japan plans an invasion of Northern Australia
• US Navy pushes to stop the invasion
• US and Australians battled the Japanese at the Coral Sea
• Neither fleet fired a shot at one another instead planes from aircraft carriers did all of the fighting.  
• Allies lost more ships but Japan lacked the strength to push farther south.  
• Japan had been halted from invading Australia

Turning Point: The Battle of Midway

• Japan wanted Midway Island
• Americans crack Japanese code and have secret info on Japanese Ship movement → Sink Japanese Aircraft Carriers

• This would finish the Japanese Pacific Fleet.  

• The US were outnumbered 4 to 1
• After Japan attacked, US led a surprise counter attack → Japanese retreated

He Said He’d Be Back!

• Douglas MacArthur, General of US forces in the Pacific had been chased off the Philippine Islands by Japan, he vowed to return!  He did!
• Creates a new strategy: Island Hopping

• Avoid the strongly held islands 
• instead take the weak ones and establish airbases on them.  

• These airbases can attack enemy supply ships and starve out the remaining islands.

• 3 steps

• Bomb → invade → build airfield to bomb next island

Iwo Jima: An Important Island

• February 19 – March 26, 1945
• Bomb: 74 days in a row
• Invade: 110,000 US vs. 22,000 Japanese 
• Iwo Jima Casualties

• 6,821 US Dead, 20,000 US Wounded
• Nearly all 22,000 Japanese fought to the death! (shows extreme loyalty)

• Built an airfield: Already there, used for bombers and fighters to destroy Japanese cities

Island Hopping: Okinawa

• From Okinawa, planes can bomb the remaining areas of the Japanese empire, including the four main islands

• 500,000 Civilians living there before the battle → 150,000 Civilians killed during the ugly battle
• 97,000 Japanese soldiers before the battle → 7,000 Japanese soldiers survived the battle

• Hundreds of Japanese “Kamikaze” pilots trained to crash into US Navy boats, killing 5,000 Americans

• US invasion force of 200,000 soldiers → US casualties: 12,513 dead, 55,000 wounded

• Now the US starts to plan bombing runs on the Japanese mainland!

WWII Oddities in the Pacific

• Real Name: Iva Toguri D'Aquino (AMERICAN)

• Crime: Wrong place at the wrong time.  In Japan when WWII was declared, She was coerced into putting on radio broadcasts meant to demoralize US troops.
• Sentence: once war is over, she was put on trial in San Francisco.  Sentenced to 10 years in prison with a $10,000 fine. (Serves 6)
• EVENTUALLY received a presidential pardon from President Ford. (1977)

• The Cargo Cult

• Natives on islands that Americans occupied who have never seen new tech, planes, etc are extremely interested
• When Americans leave, they build airways and models of airplanes out of grass/hay/etc to get them to come back

How do We End the War in the Pacific?

• What do we do?

• May 8th, 1945 V-E Day (Victory in Europe)
• By mid-1945, most of the Japanese navy & air force was destroyed.
• BUT—Japanese still had 2 million soldiers.

• The Japanese would fight to the death!

Option 1: Invasion

• Invade from Iwo Jima & Okinawa simultaneously
• Bombers could reach Japan, soften the target before we land troops
• ESTIMATED: Taking Japan would cost 200,000-1 million US lives and roughly the same amount of British lives

Option 2: Drop A Nuclear Weapon

• 1939—Albert Einstein writes a letter to FDR warning him that Germany might create an atomic bomb.
• US starts Manhattan Project

• Headed by J. Robert Oppenheimer in Los Alamos, NM
• First test bomb detonated July 1945 near Alamogordo, NM

• Shattered windows 125 miles away.

Factors to Consider

• While the US has taken a lot of Japan’s empire away from them, it still has a lot left.
• It DOESN’T treat prisoners of war with any kind of respect.

• Rape of Nanking
• Bataan Death March

• March 75 THOUSAND US/Philippine POWs across jungle territory.  
• If they stop, they are killed.  
• No food and no water!

• Japanese Soldiers will fight to the DEATH!
• Our longest running president (4 terms!) Franklin D Roosevelt has just died, his successor is Harry Truman who doesn’t have much experience.

Truman’s Decision

• President Harry S. Truman orders the use of the Atomic Bomb to force Japan to surrender.  
• He argues it will save the lives of American soldiers.
• He warns Japan to surrender or face “utter and complete destruction.”
• Japan ignores the USA
• August 6, 1945 - US dropped ‘Little Boy’ over Hiroshima (an enriched uranium bomb code-named “Little Boy”)
• Japan refused to surrender—they thought the US only had 1 bomb!
• Three days later, “Fat Man”, a plutonium bomb, was dropped on Nagasaki
• Japan officially, unconditionally surrendered on September 2, 1945.  WWII is over.

Yalta Conference, Victory In Europe and the War’s End in Europe

Operation Torch

• In late 1942, the Allies began Operation Torch, whose goal it was to liberate North Africa.

• A joint force of Americans and British would land in Northwest Africa and push east.
• At the same time, British forces in Egypt would push West

• After about 6 months of fighting, the German forces surrendered in North Africa on May 12, 1943
• Allied Navy support is key in landings/eventual victory in North Africa.
• It gave the allies a great place to launch an invasion of Italy from.

• In 1943, the Allies invaded Italy from North Africa.  
• Once Italy surrenders (Oct 1943), allies will push towards Germany

Soviet Counter-Attack

• Germans are defeated at the Battle of Stalingrad. (Huge turning point)

• Over 100,000 German troops surrender

• Germans can't cross the Volga river (other side is Moscow, valuable oil fields, etc)
• Russians gather forces.  Launch a counter-attack on German held territory (1943)
• As Soviet forces routed the Germans, Germany left lots of war material (tanks, planes, factories) as they retreated.  Russians will collect and use this as they make their push towards Germany.

D-Day Offensive

• In June of 1944.  British and American forces launch the D-Day invasions.
• Goal is to liberate France.
• Germans are well dug in on the beaches
• We drop THOUSANDS of paratroopers all over the Normandy region the night before the attack.  

• Paratroopers have many objectives including disruption of the defenses from behind, disabling artillery aimed at the beach, etc.

• In the morning, land HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of troops on the beaches of northern France.  
• Though it is costly, the Allied troops win the day.
• Objective 2 is to liberate surrounding countries. (Holland, Belgium, etc)

WWII Pushing Germany Back

• After the successful D-Day invasions, American and British forces begin to push the Germans back.

• Liberate France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, etc.

• Germany is now fighting a war on THREE fronts!

• US and British troops advance from the West (France)
• US and British troops advance from the South (North Africa and Italy campaigns)
• Soviet forces are advancing from the east (Soviet Union)

• German troops are slowly being pushed back into Germany

Yalta Conference

• The leaders of the big three allied nations (US, Britain, Russia) agree to meet in Yalta (southern Russia) to discuss strategy for finishing off Germany.

• It is decided that Russia will attack from the east 
• The US and British will attack from the South (North Africa/Italian campaigns) as well as from the West (D-Day invasions)

• What do we do when the war is over?

• US and Great Britain have similar goals: be a bit lenient b/c WWI’s Treaty of Versailles’ harsh policies somewhat caused WWII
• Russia wants to be super savage when dealing with Germany

• Situation very similar to how WWI ended
• While a plan does emerge, talks will create new divisions between the allies.

• Stalin asked for the lands agreed upon in the non-aggression pact to create a buffer zone between them and Germany
• The US and Great Britain feel like this is a second round of appeasement (Stalin seems to be a lot like Hitler)
• US and Great Britain GIVE INTO THESE DEMANDS! (They are given two warm water ports, the Kurtile Islands, and railroad rights in Manchuria)

• We feel like we need them to win the war against Japan (at that time we didn’t have the A-Bomb)

• Germany will be split and occupied at war’s end

Firebombing of Dresden

• In order to have the Russians "take us seriously" and not be pushed around, the US decided to fire-bomb the city of Dresden. 
• Think back to the bombing of Guernica, where Hitler tested out his air force.  The entire city is destroyed as is everyone in it. 
• People actually suffocate because the fire consumed all of the oxygen in the area.  
• It had no strategic value, and was home to hospitals, refugees, and a thriving artistic scene.  
• We believed that by showing our ability to be ruthless, Stalin wouldn't try to push us for any other territorial demands.

The Plan in Action

• The plan is to attack Germany from 3 directions (South, West, East)
• Bomb Germany into submission (Think: Bombing in Dresden)
• Cities across Europe feel the terrible toll of the war
• The "allies" raced towards Berlin, each hoping to be the first to get there.  

• The Russians were the first to arrive, and "got their jollies" before the other allies could.  

• There was widespread looting, and it is estimated that up to 100,000 German women were raped by members of the Red Army

• 2 million women in Germany total  

• Soldiers were thrown into concentration camps.
• Germany surrenders May 7, 1945 (next day was V-E Day/Victory in Europe)

Aftermath of WWII and the Seeds of the Cold War

Potsdam Conference

• The Allies met at Potsdam (Germany) to discuss what to do now that the war was over.  
• Germany/Austria were divided into four zones.
• German officials would go on trial for war crimes
• Germany/Austria (eventually Japan) would remain occupied by allied powers.
• US wants new democratic govts, USSR wants communist govts
• Stalin was the only leader left of the old “Big 3” so he tried to throw his weight around.

• Russia demands reparations from Germany 
• Russia demands an EVEN LARGER buffer zone between them and Germany, so Germany could never hurt them again.

Germany Terms of Surrender

• Forced Germany to accept an unconditional surrender (they can’t negotiate or argue with terms)
• Germany was to be divided into four zones of control, as was Berlin.  The US, Great Britain, France, and Russia will all get to manage one zone of control.
• The zones were created because the allies couldn’t agree on how to deal with Germany after the war.
• This would also divide Germany and make them completely unable to fight back
• War Crimes trials for Nazis who engineered the “Final Solution”

Terms of Japanese Surrender

• Japan's Imperial colonies are seized by the allies.
• Japan’s emperor has to step down and they have to create a democracy 

• They are forced to create a constitution that looks like the US 

• Hirohito does NOT step down, but a democratic government is established.  He is more of a figurehead now.
• Japan is only allowed to use a small military (provided by the US)
• US retains their bases in Okinawa as a deterrent
• The US will occupy and reconstruct Japan (45-52)

Other

• The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.

An Iron Curtain Descends

• After the Potsdam conference, President Truman feared a new aggressor in the world, Russia.
• He issued a policy of containment which was aimed at stopping the spread of communism and the influence of Russia outside of Eastern Europe in 1947.  Also called the Truman Doctrine
• Churchill delivers his "Iron Curtain" speech
• Begins the “Cold War”
• Lasts from 1945 until 1991
• US and Russia will compete for territory, influence, cutting edge technology, etc to "outdo" each other